Evaly shuts office, hotline goes quiet amid customer complaints

Evaly, an e-commerce platform mired in controversy, appears to be lying low barely 10 days after the government announced new measures to regulate digital marketplaces, leaving scores of disgruntled customers in the lurch.

Luring shoppers with dubious schemes, including offers of up to 300 percent cashback on purchases, the MLM business has been tainted by allegations of fraud and embezzlement.

The office of the digital marketplace in Dhanmondi has remained locked for days. Its founder Mohammad Rassel also seems to have gone off the radar.

Buyers and sellers have kicked up a storm on Evaly’s Facebook page, while many have physically gone to the company's Dhanmondi office.

Representatives of various suppliers and customers have been stopping by the Dhanmondi office regularly with hopes of getting their money back but to no avail so far. Calls on the company's hotline are also going unanswered, customers complained.

On Friday afternoon, a customer, wishing to remain anonymous, came to the Evaly office to make inquiries about his orders.

On his way back from the reception, he said, "I booked a OnePlus brand mobile phone worth Tk 34,000 for Tk 18,000. I also booked two expensive watches.

Four months on, he still hasn't received any of the products. "I rushed to the office after hearing that it was closing. Now, i see that there really isn't anyone in the office -- it's locked."

'Manik', a vendor in the locality, said the office had closed three days before the lockdown was announced.

Security personnel at the building said the Evaly office has been closed since Jun 26 due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

There is 'no possibility' of the office reopening before Eid, according to them.

A notice on the company's Facebook page, as well as its Dhanmondi office, said the employees were all working from home in compliance with the government's health regulations due to the pandemic. As a result, in-person services would be provided from the office.

Since its inception in 2018, Evaly has risen to prominence by offering various products at half price, provided that payment is made at least one or two months in advance.

In a short period of time, the platform attracted droves of buyers for a range of fancy products, including motorcycles, refrigerators, ACs and cars all over the country.

Money was taken in advance for low-priced items but from the beginning, Evaly was notorious for keeping most of its customers waiting to receive their products. After months of dallying, it would eventually agree to refund some of the money but even that would take months to get back to the customers.

The lack of laws and policies on e-commerce meant that the company went unpunished even though the government was aware of the irregularities.

However, at the beginning of July, the Ministry of Commerce announced new regulations to quell the possibility of any scam or other malpractices. E-commerce platforms are now required to make delivery within 48 hours of taking an order, while advance payments have also been capped at 10 percent of a product's price.

The ACC has already started an investigation against Evaly on charges of embezzling and laundering Tk 3.37 billion worth of customers' advance payments and dues to merchants.

Prompted by the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Bank recently submitted a report which put the company's dealings into stark relief.

As of Mar 14, Evali had racked up assets worth Tk 916.9 million against liabilities totalling Tk 4.06 billion. Of this, Evaly owed Tk 2.13 billion to customers and Tk 1.79 billion to merchants.

After receiving the report, the commerce ministry requested the ACC to launch an investigation and take legal action against the company.

Meanwhile, the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab) on Thursday sent a letter to Evaly in the face of numerous customer complaints and asked for a response within seven days.

Rassel could not be reached on either of his two mobile numbers. Calls on the hotline number provided on the company's website are greeted by an automated voice recording without going through to any official.